Vacuum cleaner

ABSTRACT

A heavy duty vacuum cleaner of the upright tank type having a cover with a motor impeller combination mounted therein that draws air from the container through a filter cartridge. A ball valve is freely received in the filter cartridge and closes under the buoyant force of water in the tank when filled to terminate the suction effect of the impeller at that time. Also provided is a straight intake tube mounted vertically in the cover that extends within the tank to a position below the filter so that it directs incoming materials or foreign matter to the bottom of the container and not directly to the filter.

[ Dec.4, 1973 .VACUUM cLEANER [75 Inventors: Arthur H. Eicholz; JamesE.

McCambridge, both of Polo, Ill.

[7 3] Assignee: Central Quality Industries, Inc.,

Polo, Ill.

22 Filed: Oct. 20, 1971 21 A tNQ; 190,984

3,605,786 9/1971 Machin, .lr 55/417 3,618,297 11/1971 Hamrich 55/472 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 661,636 ll/l951 Great Britain 15/353 Primary Examiner-Hemard Nozick AttorneyI-Iofgren, Wegner, Allen, Stellman and McCord 57 ABSTRACT A heavy duty vacuum cleaner of the upright tank type having a cover with a motor impeller combination mounted therein that draws air from the container through a filter cartridge. A ball valve is freely received in the filter cartridge and closes under the buoyant force of water in the tank when filled to terminate the suction effect of the impeller at that time. Also provided is a straight intake tube mounted vertically in the cover that extends within the tank to a position below the filter so that it directs incoming materials or foreign matter to the bottom of the container and not directly to the filter.

3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED 4 i975.

sum 2 [1F 2 H VACUUM CLEANER BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Theprese'nt invention relates to heavy duty vacuum cleaners of the upright drum or tank type particularly adapted for use in the basement, garage, porch, patio, or the like. One specific type of these heavy duty vacuum cleaners is referred to as a wet-dry unit adapted to draw either particulate materials suspended in air or water,.or other liquids. To prevent water in the tank from being discharged from the cleaner outlet or outlets, there have in the past been provided float type valves that close when the water level in the drum reaches a predetermined level to shut off the suction effect of the vacuum cleaner impeller. These prior valve constructions have, however, been extremely expensive and at the same time they have not provided an adequate seal so that the sucking or pumping of water proceeds even though the. valve is closed, and of course, this is undesirable.

In one prior construction, a fluted filter holder is provided constructed of a one-piece plastic molding about which replaceable filters may be held. Formed centrally within this fluted filter holder is a cylindrical valve guide that receives a rigid plastic cylindrical valve closely therein and this valve is adapted to move upwardly under the buoyant force of water in the container to close an adjacent opening in the housing or manifold for the main impeller. This is a complicated and expensive structure that does not even provide a suitable water seal.

Another feature provided in the prior art vacuum cleaners is an intake fitting mounted in the side of the tank or drumhaving a curved portion that attempts to deflect the incoming materials downwardly. It has been found, however, that the fluid turns within the tank and that much of the incoming material is directed against the filter in the upper portion of the tank causing rapid deterioration of the filter and an inefficiency in the vacuum cleaner as a whole.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a heavy duty vacuum cleaner is provided of the upright drum or tank type having improved operating characteristics over prior cleaners of this type'and significantly reduced manufacturing costs.

Toward this end a motor and impeller combination is mounted in the cover of the cleaner withthe impeller extending within the tank itself. Surrounding the impeller is a manifold that directs flow from an axial intake opening radially to an outlet in the cover. This is referred to as a bypass arrangement, since there is no fluid flow around the motor itself.

Surrounding the impeller intake opening is a filter cartridge that eliminates the need for replaceable filter elements in prior art devices since the filter cartridge is rigid and reusable after cleaning.

For the purpose of providing the wet-dry function described above, a flexible ball valve is freely received within the filter cartridge and is adapted to selectively engage a rubber seat surrounding the impeller intake opening to provide an excellent water tight seal. By the fact that the ball valve is freely received in the cartridge itself and guided by the filtering material, a significant reduction in cost is effected over prior art constructions where expensive valve guide and filter holder moldings have been provided.

A further feature of the present invention is in the provision of a vertical intake tube mounted within the cover of the unit. The tube is straight and extends vertically downwardly to a position below the filter so that it directs materials to the bottom of the container and not directly to the filter itself as in prior art cleaners. Further, provision is made to easily install the intake tube in the cover or lid. 1 i

To drain the water from the tank or drum, a valve plug is provided in the bottom of the drum and elimihates the requirement for removing the lid and emptying the water from the top of the container as in prior constructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vacuum cleaner according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section of the entire vacuum cleaner;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary section. of the intake tube;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary section of the drive and filter assembly; and

FIG. 5 is a section taken generally along line 5- 5 of FIG. 4 showing the impeller casing, manifold and outlet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT t Referring to the drawing and particularly FIG. 1, a heavy duty vacuum cleaner assembly 10 is illustrated according to the present invention, consisting generally of a cylindrical drum or tank 12, a removable cover or lid 13, a flexible intake hose 16, a motor assembly 19,

and an outlet 21 mounted on the cover 13.

the cover 13 has a curved annular flange 23 as shown in FIG. 2 that fits on a roll 24 on the upper edge of the drum 12. The cover 13 is held to the drum or tank 12 by a plurality of'releasable fasteners 26.

Handles 29 on the cover 13 are for the purpose of carrying the unit 10 or alternatively for lifting the cover alone when removing it from the drum 12. With the motor 19 running, the unit draws materials or water into tube 16, deposits the materials in the drum l2 and exhausts filtered air through outlet 21. It should be understood that the present unit may be used as well as a blower by connecting suitable tubing to the outlet 21.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the flexible hose 16 is adapted to be connected over an intake tube 30 which is received in an aperture 32 in the cover 13. The tube 30 is constructed of a suitable plastic material and includes an enlarged top portion 34 projecting above the cover 13 and adapted to receive the hose 16. A flange 36 surrounding the tube 30 rests on the top of the cover 13 and in conjunction with a snap ring 38 in recess 39 flanks the cover 13 and holds the tube 30 in position.

As seen in FIG. 2, the lower portion 40 of the tube 30 extends downwardly below cartridge filter 41. Because of the length of the tube 40 and because of its vertical disposition, materials flowing into the tube are directed to the bottom of the drum 12 in an extremely efficient manner, and there is a minimum of particle flow directly to the filter 41.

The bottom wall 42 of the drum 12 has a plastic plug valve 44 for the purpose of draining water from the drum 12. This eliminates the necessity for removing the cover 13 when emptying the drum 12 of water.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the motor assembly 19 includes a motor 46 fixed to a sealed impeller casing 47 mounted below cover 13 by a plurality of fasteners 49. The motor 46 has an axial shaft directly coupled to an impeller 52 (FIG. within the impeller casing 47 that draws air through central casing opening 52' and expels air radially between the vanes 55 in the periphery of casing 47. A cup-shaped motor cover 56 is provided and is fastened to the motor by suitable threaded fasteners 57. The cover 56 supports motor switch 58. A motor cover plate assembly 61 is provided for venting cooling air to the motor 46.

Surrounding the impeller casing 47 is a manifold housing 62 fixed to the lower side of cover 13 by suitable fasteners 63. The manifold housing 62 is tapered as shown in FIG. 5 from the impeller casing 47 to the outlet 21 which includes a plurality of holes 65 in the cover member 13. The manifold serves to direct air exiting from the casing vanes 55 to the outlet 21.

The filter 41 is of the cartridge type and is adapted to filter air entering the drum so that the exhaust through outlet 21 is relatively free of any foreign matter. The filter 41 includes a resilient annular upper ring 65 which snugly fits on a cup-shaped frame member 68 fixed to the lower surface of manifold 62. Cup-shaped member 68 has an aperture 70 aligned with an aperture 71 in the manifold member 62. The filter 41 further includes a zig-zag rigid filtering material 69 that carries a bottom plate 72 at its lower end enclosing the filter in its entirety.

For the purpose of adapting the present vacuum cleaner for pumping either liquids or air, a valve assembly 74 is provided including an annular rubber seal 76 fixed to the cup-shaped member 68 and surrounding the openings 70 and 71. Loosely received within the filter 41 is a resilient spherical valve member 77 that securely engages the valve seat 76 when the liquid level within the drum 12 is sufficient to lift the ball 77 upwardly. When the valve member 77 is seated, the vacuum terminates and no further liquid or other material is drawn into the tank 12. One of the advantages of the present construction is that no valve guide is necessary and that the inner surface 80 of the filter material 69 serves itself as a valve guide. This is an extremely simplified construction over those found in the prior art.

We claim:

1. A vacuum cleaner assembly, comprising; a tank, an inlet in said housing, a removable cover on said tank, an impeller supported by said removable cover having an inlet facing downwardly into tank, a motor driving said impeller and having a housing projecting above said removable cover, said housing having vents therein, a cover, plate spaced above said vents and carried by the motor housing, a seal surrounding the inlet to the impeller, a supporting ring concentric with and surrounding said seal, a removable filter cartridge held by said supporting ring including an upper resilient'ring snugly fitting over said supporting ring, an annular array of pleated filter material extending downwardly from said upper resilient ring, a bottom plate extending horizontally across the bottom of the filter material defining an enclosure therein, a ball valve within said enclosure, said cartridge being constructed to serve as the only guide for said ball valve, an exhaust manifold surrounding said impeller and being defined in part by said cover, and an outlet projecting upwardly and communicating with the interior of the manifold, said manifold being tapered from the impeller to the outlet.

2. A vacuum cleaner assembly, comprising; a tank, a removable cover on said tank, an impeller supported by said removable cover having an inlet facing downwardly into the tank, a motor driving said impeller and having a housing projecting above said removable cover, a seal surrounding the inlet to the impeller, a

supporting ring concentric with and surrounding said seal, a removable filter cartridge held bysaid supporting ring including an upper resilient ring snugly fitting over said supporting ring, an annular array of pleated filter material extending downwardly from said upper resilient ring, a bottom plate extending horizontally across the bottom of the filter material defining an enclosure therein, a ball valve within said enclosure, said cartridge being constructed to serve as the only guide for said ball valve, an exhaust manifold surrounding said impeller and being defined in part by said cover, and an outlet communicating with the interior of the manifold, said manifold being tapered from the impeller to the outlet.

3. A vacuum cleaner assembly, comprising; a tank, a removable cover on said tank, an impeller supported by said removable cover having an inlet facing downwardly into the tank, a motor driving said impeller, a seal surrounding the inlet to the impeller, a supporting ring concentric with and surrounding said seal, a removable filter cartridge held by said supporting ring including an upper resilient ring snugly fitting over said supporting ring, an annular array of pleated filter material extending downwardly from said upper resilient ring, a bottom plate extending horizontally across the bottom of the filter material defining an enclosure therein, a ball valve within said enclosure, said cartridge serving as the only guide for said ball valve, an exhaust manifold surrounding said impeller and being defined in part by said cover, and an outlet communicating with the interior of the manifold.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent NO- 3.775.951 Datedw Inventor(s) Q It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In [751 Inventors: Arthur H. Eicholzr James E.

' McCambridge, both of P010, Ill.

"EICHOLZ" should be -EIcHHoLz--.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of April 1971].,

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. G. MARSHALL DANN Attest ing Officer Comissiorler of Patents 

1. A vacuum cleaner assembly, comprising; a tank, an inlet in said housing, a removable cover on said tank, an impeller supported by said removable cover having an inlet facing downwardly into tank, a motor driving said impeller and having a housing projecting above said removable cover, said housing having vents therein, a cover plate spaced above said vents and carried by the motor housing, a seal surrounding the inlet to the impeller, a supporting ring concentric with and surrounding said seal, a removable filter cartridge held by said supporting ring including an upper resilient ring snugly fitting over said supporting ring, an annular array of pleated filter material extending downwardly from said upper resilient ring, a bottom plate extending horizontally across the bottom of the filter material defining an enclosure therein, a ball valve within said enclosure, said cartridge being constructed to serve as the only guide for said ball valve, an exhaust manifold surrounding said impeller and being defined in part by said cover, and an outlet projecting upwardly and communicating with the interior of the manifold, said manifold being tapered from the impeller to the outlet.
 2. A vacuum cleaner assembly, comprising; a tank, a removable cover on said tank, an impeller supported by said removable cover having an inlet facing downwardly into the tank, a motor driving said impeller and having a housing projecting above said removable cover, a seal surrounding the inlet to the impeller, a supporting ring concentric with and surrounding said seal, a removable filter cartridge held by said supporting ring including an upper resilient ring snugly fiTting over said supporting ring, an annular array of pleated filter material extending downwardly from said upper resilient ring, a bottom plate extending horizontally across the bottom of the filter material defining an enclosure therein, a ball valve within said enclosure, said cartridge being constructed to serve as the only guide for said ball valve, an exhaust manifold surrounding said impeller and being defined in part by said cover, and an outlet communicating with the interior of the manifold, said manifold being tapered from the impeller to the outlet.
 3. A vacuum cleaner assembly, comprising; a tank, a removable cover on said tank, an impeller supported by said removable cover having an inlet facing downwardly into the tank, a motor driving said impeller, a seal surrounding the inlet to the impeller, a supporting ring concentric with and surrounding said seal, a removable filter cartridge held by said supporting ring including an upper resilient ring snugly fitting over said supporting ring, an annular array of pleated filter material extending downwardly from said upper resilient ring, a bottom plate extending horizontally across the bottom of the filter material defining an enclosure therein, a ball valve within said enclosure, said cartridge serving as the only guide for said ball valve, an exhaust manifold surrounding said impeller and being defined in part by said cover, and an outlet communicating with the interior of the manifold. 